March 22nd, 2010 by Shadowfax in Better Health Network, Health Policy
Tags: Assurant, Can't Get Insurance, Doctor, Emergency Medicine, Employer, Health Insurance, Healthcare reform, Oregon, Physician
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We use a little company called Assurant to administer the employee health insurance plan for our business. We have about 50 employees, not all of whom are on our insurance (some get theirs through a spouse), so we are in a particularly undesirable segment of the small-business market. Ironically, we have had a fair amount of difficulty in getting coverage which was affordable and sustainable. A lot of insurers wouldn’t even bid on us. Funny, right? The doctors can’t get health care insurance! Hysterical! So we wound up with an unusual sort of self-funded plan administered by Assurant, which was working OK.
Recently, however, a couple of our doctors wound up taking family members to the ER for various reasons — nothing serious, but common and reasonable presentations for an ER. And Assurant denied payment for the claims. They didn’t deny it outright, actually, just imposed a $500 “penalty for non-emergent use of the Emergency Room” on top of the usual co-pays and deductibles. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Movin' Meat*
March 21st, 2010 by RamonaBatesMD in Better Health Network, Health Tips, News
Tags: Breast Augmentation, Breast Implants, Double-Bubble Breast Deformity, Mastoplexy, Plastic Surgery
1 Comment »
Recently a Staten Island woman was awarded $3.5 million after developing a double-bubble breast deformity after a breast augmentation/mastopexy surgery — commonly known as breast implants.
I don’t know if the award was warranted, but I do know that the deformity is a known risk of breast augmentation surgery. I try very hard to tell patients about possible risks of surgery, but none of us go into surgery thinking we will be the half or one or two percent. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*
March 21st, 2010 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, Book Reviews, Health Tips, True Stories
Tags: Anxiety, Dance, Depression, General Practice, Physician Burnout, Relaxation, Stress
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By Susan Biali, M.D.
Ten years ago, I was an emergency medicine resident and wanted to die. Today, I’m a general practitioner in part-time practice and in love with life. What made the difference? I signed up for a dance class.
Reports on physician burnout list the personality traits that set us up for trouble: we’re excessively conscientious, feel overly responsible, want to please everyone, and function on an extremely high level –- even if we’re overloaded, exhausted, or our personal life is falling apart. We burn out because we bend over backwards to help others, until something (like our minds or our health or our marriages) finally snaps. Now imagine this: what if we took some of that deep caring and hyper-responsibility, and turned it on ourselves?
When my depression hit bottom and I became a serious risk to myself and my patients, my chief resident asked me to take a stress leave. On impulse I went on a solo tropical vacation and one night at the resort, as I watched an exuberant group of salsa dancers burning up the stage, my eyes filled with tears. I suddenly remembered that when I was a little girl, I practiced incessantly in the basement to my ABBA records, preparing myself for the moment that I would live my dream and finally become a “Solid Gold Dancer.” That night, in that darkened tropical theater, I knew how I would save my life. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
March 21st, 2010 by DaveMunger in Better Health Network, Opinion, Research, True Stories
Tags: Global, Population Control, Population Growth
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Last summer, my wife Greta and I spent a glorious week with old friends in a lovely home on the coast of Maine, immersed in wilderness and beautiful isolation. Isn’t it just wonderful?
Yet a home like this is completely out of reach for the vast majority of the world’s population, isn’t it? Even if everyone could afford such a place, there simply isn’t enough land on the planet to house everyone in such luxury, right? Maybe not. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Daily Monthly*
March 21st, 2010 by BarbaraFicarraRN in Better Health Network, Health Tips, True Stories
Tags: Dietitian, Eating Healthy, Fish, General Medicine, Heart Disease, High In Protein, Low Fat, Mediterranean Diet, Nutrition, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Wonder Foods
1 Comment »
By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA
Last week, I returned from Italy — Florence (Firenze) to be exact (a magical city in Tuscany) — only to realize how much I miss the delicious Mediterranean food. Trattorias (little informal restaurants) can be found along the cobblestone streets through the narrow alleyways. The trattorias boast magnificent Mediterranean cuisine — it’s healthy and ingredients are simple. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Health in 30*
